DAMBUDZO MARECHERA

 

The literary profile of Zimbabwean writer, Dambudzo Marechera is somewhat tinged with tragedy as the wordsmith died so prematurely at the age of 35.  But what a scintillating literary talent!

There can be no doubt that his prowess belonged to the top drawer, and he remains one of the best talents Africa has ever produced, "maverick" or not. 

Marechera always wrote very well, whether in his novels, short stories, plays, or essays. He was also a brilliant reviewer/critic of diverse books and authors. He was a born writer, which adds a further patina of frustration and melancholy to his early demise.

The body of literary-critical work based on Marechera's writings is extraordinary, especially the efforts of Flora Weit-Wild who apart from publishing many comprehensive studies on the "maverick", also edited and published further works of Marechera posthumously. Of course in recent times it has emerged that Wild (a woman) and Marechera had been lovers in the past, but this is no way detracts from the stunning work Wild has done to promote his work over the decades.

Dambudzo Marechera,  (born 1952, Rusape, Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]—died Aug. 18, 1987)), Zimbabwean novelist who won critical acclaim for his collection of stories entitled The House of Hunger (1978), a powerful account of life in his country under white rule.

Marechera grew up in poverty. He reacted against his upbringing and adopted an increasingly self-destructive lifestyle. He studied at the University of Rhodesia but was expelled after participating in a demonstration over the wages of black staff members.

He obtained a scholarship to New College, Oxford, but he was expelled in 1977 for trying to set fire to the college building. While living in England, he wrote The House of Hunger, his name for his country. Despite critical and popular recognition brought by the publication of his book, Marechera remained disruptive and confrontational.

In 1980 his novel Black Sunlight was published; less acclaimed than his first work, it is an explosive and chaotic stream-of-consciousness account of a photojournalist’s involvement with a revolutionary organization. Marechera returned to Zimbabwe in 1981; his mental and physical condition deteriorated, and he was often homeless.


Mindblast, or the Definitive Buddy (1984), the last collection published during his lifetime, includes four plays, a prose narrative, poetry, and a section of his Harare journal. A novel, entitled “The Depths of Diamonds,” was rejected for publication reportedly because of its obscenity. Marechera’s health deteriorated, and he soon died of AIDS.

Posthumous publications of his works, compiled by Flora Veit-Wild, include The Black Insider (1990); Cemetery of Mind (1992), a powerful collection of his poetry; and Scrapiron Blues (1994), a collection of stories, plays, and a novella.

Studies:

Dambudzo Marechera : a source book on his life and work by Flora Veit-Wild 

Emerging perspectives on Dambudzo Marechera 

No room for cowardice : a view of the life and times of Dambudzo Marechera by David Pattison 

Marechera and the colonel : a Zimbabwean writer & the claims of the state by David Caute 

Language and alienation in the novels of Dambudzo Marechera by John F Hess 

'Dambudzo Marechera was bad" : discuss! Part 1 by Chigango Musandireve